Force of Destiny
by CalKJ
Summary: Outside of their respective games, Sora and Dante live a somewhat peaceful and respectful life in the all-encompassing worlds of Square Enix and Capcom World, respectively. However, after some demon sightings have been reported in SE, King Mickey is dispatched to retrieve the services of Devil May Cry, which keeps ignoring their calls for some reason. Maybe Xehanort has a clue...
1. Separated

**Chapter 1: Separated**

Yet again, Kairi shoots Dante a look of pure annoyance. Sternly, she commanded, "Stop looking at me."

Dante laughed out loud. "What? You were looking at _me!"_

Riku intervened, "C'mon, Dante, knock it off. She doesn't like you."

"That's funny. She wasn't terribly thankful when I saved you both, either."

Riku and Kairi looked at each other, the former of whom giving this "he's right" look.

The trio had reached a dead end of the destroyed part of town. Beyond the mountain of rubble, Sora and Nero were hopefully making progress.

Meanwhile, Kairi decided to eloquently elaborate on her dislike of Dante, "You're a pervert."

Astonished by her logic, Dante scoffed and said, "I haven't said or done anything wrong to you—not this time, at least."

It was true; unlike when they first met, Dante had been acting like a total gentleman. No longer did he shoot off cheap pickup lines for the sake of seeing her vexed; long gone were the winking and the whistling every time they made eye contact; far from Dante were the comments about shopping for a sex-doll that vaguely resembled Kairi—no, he was a changed man. The devil side of him? Well, that remained to be seen.

Riku sighed. "How 'bout we all get along until Sora shows up?"

**-X-**

"Hey! Watch that lightning of yours! You almost zapped me!" Nero complained, shooting down an approaching Heartless.

"It's not my fault you keep jumping around everywhere!" Sora retaliated, upper-slashing a demon in the face. "Can't you fight without literally bouncing off the walls?"

"I'm not about to let some kid and his giant house key critique my fighting," Nero declared, slashing a demon across its body. "And you're one to talk—you spend half the time running up the side of walls for cryin' out loud!"

Sora delivered the finishing blow to the final enemy, a Heartless Large Body. Smirking, he replied, "Don't worry. You'll learn how to do it one day."

"Kid, I been runnin' up walls since I was twelve. Don't get so cocky."

Suddenly, there was a Heartless Neo Shadow lurking behind Nero. Sora alerted him, "You missed one—"

Without even looking back, Nero blasted it in the face, ending its existence while also destroying the demonic barrier that sealed them inside that part of town. Dutifully, he said, "C'mon. Dante and your friends are probably waiting."

**-X-**

"You sure he's not from the Underworld?" Lady skeptically asked.

Nodding, Trish answered, "Trust me, Lady. I'd know if he was from there."

The person they were talking about was standing right in front of them, none other than King Mickey. With an uncaring shrug, the mouse monarch stated, "Gee, it sure would be a downer if I was born in a place controlled by Hades."

"Hades?" Trish repeated. "No, not the Greek Underworld. I'm talking about Hell."

"Hell-o? Nice to meet ya! I'm Mickey Mouse!" Mickey said, holding out his hand.

"The hell's wrong with you?" Lady asked, already annoyed with Mickey's antics. After all, they'd been talking for half an hour. There was no need to reintroduce themselves.

"Yeah, you got brain damage, or something?" Trish asked.

"Uh…no?"

Lady pressed, "And how come you're a talking mouse? You some kinda demon, or something?"

Mickey tried to be tactful here, seeing as how these two ladies were packing weapons in every corner of their outfits. "Well, uh…I don't believe I'm a demon. Whenever I can, I try to fight for the good guys."

Leaning in closer to Mickey, Lady hummed, "Hmm…that's exactly what a demon would say."

Fed up with their questioning, Mickey said, "Okay, I'll stop ya right there. If I were a demon, I wouldn't have walked into a shop with a sign saying 'Devil May Cry' on the front. Trust me on this one."

Indeed, the three were hanging out inside Dante's messy shop. While Lady and Trish sat on Dante's desk, scrutinizing Mickey, the mouse king stood before them, attempting to diffuse any distrust they might have held towards him.

He added, "Also, I have a Keyblade." Behold, he summoned his Kingdom Key D.

Knowledgeable of such weapons, Trish stated, "I'm not convinced. The Keyblade can be used as a tool for terrible destruction."

"While that is true," Mickey began, about to draw his trump card, "how many bad guys do you know carry pictures of their wife with them?" Behold, he extracted his wallet, opening it to reveal photos of him and Queen Minnie at a picnic.

Lady cooed, "Aw, that's cute."

"Heh, I guess you're not so bad," Trish judged. "Final question: you ever drank human blood before?"

Lady asked, "Yeah, you some kinda demon, or something?"

Mickey slapped his own face, muttering, "For cryin' out loud…"

**-X-**

Riku's Gummi phone rang; it was King Mickey attempting to face-time him. Hitting answer, Riku said, "What's up, Mickey?"

The mouse monarch had a deadpan expression about his cartoony face. With irritation in his voice, he said, "Hey, Riku. Hope you're not busy—do you mind telling these two _nice _girls about how you, me, and the rest of us Keyblade wielders use our powers for good, not evil?"

"Uh…" Riku watched as Mickey rotated his phone around to view both Trish and Lady, both of whom waved. Waving back timidly, Riku vouched, "Yeah, we're good guys."

"See?" Trish said. "That's all you had to say, Rat-Boy."

Mickey turned the camera back to his face, sighing as he reported, "Anyway, I made it to Dante's office. Are you guys still at Headquarters?"

"_Yeahhhh,_ something kind of happened while you were away," Riku explained. "One, Dante and Nero are both already here with us, and, two, half of downtown is destroyed."

"Wait—what? What happened to the city?"

Just then, Dante walked up behind Riku, answering the mouse, "All hell broke loose. Your world's infested with demons, and now I'm basically working for free at this point."

Riku added, "Not to mention the Heartless are roaming the streets."

Lady and Trish appeared over Mickey's shoulder. Lady, with an excited look, asked, "Dante—did you just say there were demons?"

Nodding, Dante responded, "Yeah, but like I said, I'm working for free."

Trish dismissed him, "Doesn't matter! You don't get to have all the fun by yourself!"

Dante sighed with an eye roll. "I take it you're worried about my safety. Thanks, but you can relax. I've got Nero here with me…and these Key-sword guys as back up."

Both Trish and Lady were shaking their heads, the latter of whom clarifying, "Yeah—no, we weren't worried about you. We just wanna have some fun, too."

While Riku and Mickey took solace in each other's irritated expressions, Dante replied to his female allies, "Maybe you two should sit this one out. There's enough collateral damage here as it is."

"Aw, you're just being stingy!" Lady bemoaned. "That world isn't so far away, especially if we take this mouse-guy's gumball ship or something—"

"That's GUMMI ship," Mickey interjected. He continued his conversation with Riku, "Look, Riku—I'll head over there ASAP. Just hold on—! Hey!"

Trish had snatched Mickey's Gummi phone from him, promising everyone, "We're coming, too!"

Dante chuckled. "Suit yourself, but don't expect to get paid."

Hanging up the call, Riku said, "Hope your friends have more fighting skills than manners."

"Eh, they can handle their own. And hey, you might even get along with them."

Dante looked over at Kairi, who was sitting on a half-crushed bench and returning a frown. The half-devil rolled his eyes.

"Heh, or not."

**-X-**

Sora and Nero had finally reached the mountain of rubble that separated them from the others. In a loud voice, Sora called out, "Riku! Kairi! Can you hear me!?"

A girl's faint voice yelled back, "Sora, is that you?"

"Kairi! Are you by yourself?"

"No—!"

"She's in good company." Dante interrupted Kairi.

"I'm here, too!" Riku called.

Relieved, Sora asked, "Do you guys see a way around to the dormitory?"

Kairi's group was coming from the half-destroyed downtown, near the world's headquarters. Nero and Sora had traveled from the eastern side, a suburban area with many demons and Heartless terrorizing the streets. Serving as the midway point, the mountain of rubble was indeed an overturned building, thanks to the teamwork of a Heartless Storm Rider and Behemoth.

Kairi replied from the other side, "No—I'm guessing you couldn't get your Gummi ship running?"

"Not until we get a repair kit."

Dante yelled, "Hey, kid!"

Both Sora and Nero yelled back, "What?"

"I have a clue what's causing this mess! Back at this place's headquarters, I saw an opened Hellgate! As for the Heartless, I don't know where they're coming from!"

Nero repeated, "A Hellgate…? Dante, are you sure?"

"Positive!" Dante yelled back. "We just got in contact with the mouse-guy—he's bringing reinforcements!"

That was comforting to hear for both Sora and Nero, though the feeling was short lived. More Heartless and demons could be heard rioting from the next street over. Nero yelled over the mountain of rubble, "Then it's settled! We'll meet you guys back at the Hellgate!"

Riku shouted, "How are you two gonna reach us!?"

Sora answered, "We'll have to take the long way around!"

"Don't keep me waiting, Sora!" Kairi had yelled.

"Right!"


	2. The Gate

**Chapter 2: The Gate**

While walking towards the adjacent street, Sora's mind wandered back to the events that caused this chaos in the first place.

* * *

**-X-**

Heartless had been spotted all over campus. They weren't much of a threat until a new breed of enemy showed its face; the authorities classified them as demons.

Speaking of the authorities, they had called Sora and his friends to Headquarters to discuss this dilemma.

"Sora—we don't know how the Heartless are getting past our Light Barrier, but we need your expertise in vanquishing them! The citizens of Square Enix will thank you once this boils over!"

"Heh," Sora grunted, smiling wide enough for the whole council to see. "Say no more—those Heartless are as good as toast."

Riku, Mickey, and Kairi were also in attendance. The silver-haired teenager had asked, "What about the others? Shouldn't Terra, Aqua, or Ventus be concerned about this, too?"

The councilman, perpetually adorned in expensive samurai armor, explained, "Terra and Aqua are off on vacation in another world. As for Ven, he has returned to sleeping in the Chamber of Waking, and he won't be lucid until Kingdom Hearts III comes out."

Mickey asked, "Okay—but what about those other monsters? They're clearly not from this world. Ya have any idea where they're coming from?"

The councilman reported, "Yes, those things. We've identified them as demons from Dante's world. Sora, do you remember your encounter with Dante, the Legendary Devil Hunter?"

Nodding, Sora vividly remembered his first and second fights with Dante. He answered, "Yeah."

"We've tried contacting his shop, but no one appears to be home, so we're sending one of you to go find Dante and bring him back here."

Sora lamented, "Aw, do we really need his help? Feels like we can handle this one on our own."

Kairi put in her two cents, "Yeah, I vote we keep Dante out of this."

The councilman shook his head. "We have no idea how far these demons have infiltrated our world. It wouldn't hurt to have specialized personnel assisting with this mission. King Mickey, you're the only one here authorized to leave our world, so we'll be sending you."

Perking up, Mickey saluted before saying, "Right away, Matsuda!"

"Look for a shop called 'Devil May Cry'."

As Mickey left the luxurious office in search of his Gummi ship, Kairi asked, "So what do you want us to do?"

The armor-clad councilman replied, "You three will help battle the new menace as well as the Heartless. But before you go, we'll need to discuss every reported location in which our citizens have encountered the enemies."

However, just as the councilman started his Power Point, alarms went off in the building.

* * *

**-X-**

As they approached the commotion in the adjacent street, Nero also dwelled upon the events that led up to this city-wide carnage.

* * *

**-X-**

Nero stared out the window of their sedan's windshield. Once again in outer space? He'd only ever been outside his world twice before, and seeing the endless stretch always left an impression on him.

Thanks to the fact that they didn't own a spaceship, Dante and Nero needed to utilize a procedurally generated holographic road for interstellar travel. Damn thing wasn't cheap, either.

Dante didn't seem too concerned about the sights of interstellar travel, for he sat reading a magazine in the sedan's passenger seat. Nero, on the other hand, couldn't get enough of the ocean of stars.

He shouted, "Oh, baby! This is unreal! It's like I could drive forever out here!"

"No kiddin'," said his moderately impressed passenger. "But be careful—we don't wanna run outta juice in that Astral Road thing. I ain't planning on being stranded in outer space."

In his usual uncaring tone, Nero replied, "Tch, yeah. That would suck ass."

Dante asked, "Hey, how far away are we?"

"That Keyblade kid's world is twenty minutes away, but I bet I could make it there in under fifteen," Nero bid.

Turning the page in his magazine, Dante muttered, "Well, let me know if you see something in our way."

"Man," Nero complained, "we really need to hire a driver for stuff like this."

Lo and behold, Nero was able to drive them there in less than fourteen minutes. Entering Square Enix's atmosphere, he guided the sedan downward to a tall building in the middle of downtown. He said, "I figured we should start at their HQ. Might be a good idea to let them know we're here. Prob'ly for the best."

Dante seconded, "Damn straight, it's for the best. How else are we gonna get paid?"

As Nero circled downward to one of the tower's four landing pads, the sound of an alarm filled their ears. Upon closer inspection, they could see red lights flashing all around the landing pad.

Sheepishly, Nero said, "Whoops. Guess I tripped a few alarms. Best to stay calm."

After they parked the car in an empty spot, Dante grabbed his sword from the backseat and volunteered, "Just let me handle this."

Swinging open the car's doors, they disembarked onto the landing pad, where security guards dressed in all black soon met them, pointing guns at the duo. One of the security guards shrieked, "You are not authorized to land here! Drop your weapons and put your hands on your head!"

Sighing, Dante placed his sword on his back and addressed them, "Relax, super-cops. We're here for the demons."

One of the security guards seemed to recognize the demon hunter. Muttering, he said, "Wait…isn't that Dante?"

Suddenly the councilman emerged from the twin doors of his office, followed by Sora, Kairi, and Riku. Aggravated, the councilman commanded, "All of you—put your guns down! Can't you see who that is?"

Beaming, Sora greeted, "Hey, Dante!"

"Nice to see you still alive," Dante returned the greeting.

"Likewise. Hey…did ya see King Mickey?"

"Uh…who?"

Riku also noticed he was gone, adding, "The king was supposed to go looking for you at your world. How come you're here already?"

Nero interjected, "What, are you kiddin'? You guys called us!"

Matsuda, the councilman, asked, "WHO called you? We tried calling multiple times, but you never answered."

"That's odd." Dante sensed something afoul. "Trish and Lady should've been back at the shop by now."

Nero explained, "Earlier, we got a call from someone named Xehanort. Said demons were attacking your world. He sent us videos and everything."

Riku groaned, "Oh…_great!"_

Sora asked, "Wait, which Xehanort? Did he sound like a young guy, an old man, or someone possessing someone else's body?"

"He was definitely an old man," Nero answered.

Riku clenched his fist. "I knew old man Xehanort had something to do with this!"

"If he did," Sora began, "then why did he call Dante?"

Matsuda declared, "We'll get to the bottom of this eventually. First, you should split into two groups. Sora, Nero—why don't the two of you go defend the eastern side? The rest should go look for Xehanort."

Nodding, Sora said, "C'mon, Nero! Let's take my Gummi ship!"

"Your _what _ship?" Regardless, Nero grabbed his sword and followed Sora to his _Highwind._

Meanwhile, Dante crossed his arms and greeted, "Nice to see you again, Your Highness."

Kairi frowned. "Dante."

Riku spoke up, "Great to finally meet you, Mister Dante. Sora's told me a lot about you."

"Right, you must be Donald Duck." Dante didn't even blink.

"Uh…" Riku whirled around to see Nero and Sora boarding the ship. He yelled at the spiky haired boy, "Seriously, Sora?! You didn't tell Dante the Demon Hunter about me?!"

"Sorry—can't hear ya!"

Dante addressed Kairi, "So. Got your own Keyblade, now?"

"Yep." She remained short with her words.

"Eloquent. How 'bout style?"

"Got that, too."

"Good. Last, but not least, bullet-time?"

"...What?"

Dante drew an invisible pistol, pulling its nonexistent trigger at point blank. Kairi's flinch-level, however, was minimal_._

The devil hunter shrugged. "Hmph, you'll get there."

Matsuda addressed them, "Let's head inside my office. I have a PowerPoint presentation prepared—"

Suddenly, a couple of loud crashes erupted from the tower's base, shaking the entire edifice. Peering over the edge, they saw a pair of burly fiends, the Behemoth Heartless and Behemoth Demon, repeatedly ramming their spiked heads into the building's base.

"That's not good!" yelled Matsuda. "Everyone, into a vessel!"

More trouble was on the way; a dragon-like Storm Rider Heartless was zooming in straight for them, daring to crash into the whole landing pad.

Sora and Nero had already taken off in the Gummi ship and were forced to circle around to battle the dragon Heartless. Matsuda had been tackled to safety by one of the guards, and while the others fired their pistols at the approaching Heartless, Riku had yelled, "Yeah, when you run outta ammo, DUCK!"

"Look out, Donald!" Dante shouted.

The Storm Rider swooped down and pushed Riku and most of the guards over the edge, forcing them to face a twenty-five-story fall. Meanwhile, Kairi had tried absorbing the impact with her Keyblade, now finding herself sliding backward off the landing pad. Eventually, the flying Emblem fiend pitched upwards, taking the _Highwind _head-on.

Dante, who had been just out of reach, let out a sigh of relief. The car didn't get destroyed. Turning to Matsuda, he said, "Okay, let's talk prices."

Matsuda replied behind his samurai armor, "You're going to have to save them, Dante. Those security drones are only programmed to save S.E. Staff, which DOES include themselves but not either Riku nor Kairi."

"What a pain. Guess this officially means I'm workin' for free."

He dove after them, watching the countless guards rappel themselves to safety sans any Keyblade wielders. Then, angling his body, he first caught up to Riku and took him under his arm, doing the same for Kairi.

Utilizing his Air Trick technique, he broke their trajectory by dashing backwards through a window of the tower. They shattered the glass, landing in a heap amid someone's abandoned office space.

Struggling back to his feet, Riku groaned and said, "Thanks, Dante."

"Yeah," Kairi added, then looking out the window.

Sora's Gummi ship could be seen smoking before it crash-landed somewhere by the dormitory.

"Oh, no—Sora!" she yelled.

Riku commanded, "We have to make sure they're okay!" Drawing his Gummi phone, he dialed Sora's number but immediately received a busy signal. "He must be fighting—at least we know he's alive."

"We should go find him," Kairi elected.

"Right behind ya," said Dante.

The trio made their way to the elevator, taking a ride down to the first floor. Exiting the building, they were amazed to see Heartless and demons of many different breeds rioting in the streets.

Summoning his Braveheart Keyblade, Riku stated, "It's time to go to work."

Staring at something structured in the middle of the street, Dante uttered, "What the hell…?"

Seeing the same rectangular block standing upright, Kairi asked, "Is that some kind of monolith?"

"No—that's a Hellgate!" Dante informed. "So that's where these demons are coming from…"

"Funny," Kairi observed. "It wasn't there before."

Getting into his battle stance, Riku declared, "Doesn't matter—now we know where to send them back!"

Shaking his head, Dante said, "It's no use, kid. The more we kill, the more will spawn here. Only Nero's sword, Yamato, can seal a Hellgate."

Kairi gleaned, "So, we need to find Sora and Nero, fast!"

Nodding, Dante led the way through the street, running right past the attacking demons and Heartless while shooting any that got too close. Riku and Kairi followed suit.

Whilst running to safety, Riku pondered out loud, "So that explains where the demons are coming from—but what about the Heartless?"

"Never mind that, Riku," Kairi said. "Call Sora again."

"Good idea." Whipping out his Gummi phone, Riku dialed Sora's number, and soon, saw his distressed face in the camera feed.

"Riku, are you okay?" Sora asked with Nero and a badly damaged _Highwind_ in the background.

"Yeah, I'm with Kairi and Dante. And I was just about to ask you the same thing."

"That Heartless dragon shot down my ship, but we managed to land in the field behind the dorm. There are Heartless and demons everywhere now—it wasn't like this earlier today."

Suddenly, a glowing red demonic barrier sealed Dante, Riku, and Kairi inside an empty part of town. Recognizing that barrier, Nero told them through the phone, "Careful—you guys have to fight your way outta there!"

Twirling his sword, Dante replied, "We know the drill."

Drawing the Destiny's Embrace, Kairi said, "Speak for yourself."

Before ending the call, Riku told Sora, "Meet us halfway between Headquarters and the dorm! Watch yourselves!"

* * *

**-X-**

Mickey had arrived at Dante's office. Standing outside in the daylight, he pondered his approach. Should he scream bloody murder? Should he start drinking? Should he go homeless for one more hit of the good stuff? Ever since Minnie started her book club a few D-I-Ys ago, he felt the need to go hang gliding. If only he owned a pair of Fortnite-themed chimichangas.

The future was bleak; no longer did Mickey support the use of cigarettes in shampoo commercials. He remembered the first time he started gambling. He spent all the earnings on Russian hand grenades, circa whenever they made them.

Mickey thought about the something times something happened and threw away his half empty can of Red Bull. "Yeah, that stuff's no good for me."

Just then, two women arrived on the scene, strolling down the street and stopping in front of Devil May Cry. One of them, a woman with short black hair, took notice of the anthropomorphic mouse standing across the street. She lightly elbowed her blonde friend, saying, "Check out the circus freak."

Slightly unnerved, Mickey called out to them, "Is Dante home? My friends and I sort of need his help."

Unlocking the door, the blonde woman, Trish, replied, "He left a while ago. Didn't say where."

Mickey tried, "Do ya think he might come back soon?"

The black-haired woman, Lady, asked, "Is there something wrong with your voice?"

By now, that type of question rolled off Mickey's back. "No…that's just how I speak."

Trish beckoned him, "Why not come inside...if you gotta job for us?"

Perking up, Mickey smiled and said, "Sure-do! It's about a demon invasion in another world!"

"Demon invasion~," Lady chanted. "That's all you had to say."


	3. Beyond Barriers

**Chapter 3: Beyond Barriers**

Sora and Nero approached the source of the commotion. From around the corner of a building, a sickle-wielding Hell Caina went flying into the side of a car.

"Someone's having a blast," Nero commented, eager to check out the culprit.

"Considering who lives in this town, that's either really good or really bad," said Sora, rounding the corner to spot a familiar Organization XIII member. It was the original Organization's leader.

Slicing and dicing up Heartless and demons alike, the Ethereal-Blades-wielding Nobody took notice of Sora and Nero. After finishing off the last Hell Antenora, Xemnas greeted lowly, "Sora… You look well."

Pointing his Kingdom Key at Xemnas, Sora accosted him, "Xemnas! You'd better start explaining what's happening!"

With a smile, Xemnas replied, "That, I do not know."

Nero surmised, "I'm guessing the two of you have history." He turned to Sora. "This guy have any connection with Xehanort?"

"Sure does," Sora stated. Addressing the Superior Nobody, he said, "Listen up—whatever you're planning, it stops here and now. Give up the details, and maybe we'll let you walk away."

"Yeah, jackass—what he said," Nero added.

Enlisting his creepiest, evil-guy laugh possible, Xemnas retorted, "You and your friend should learn to listen. I just told you—I'm not privy to what has befallen the world of Square Enix. At this point, I'm simply enjoying the abundant carnage."

Nero fixed Sora with a slightly bewildered look, so the Chosen Keyblade wielder asked, "Wait…you really _don't _know what's going on? I wonder why Master Xehanort did all this, then..."

"Hmph. If all of this is truly Master Xehanort's doing, then he has neglected to include me in his planning process." Laughing he added, "If you do come across the master, be sure to give him my thanks."

With that, Xemnas turned around and walked away.

Before he got too far, however, Sora called after him, "Xemnas, wait!"

Xemnas stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"I was thinking maybe we could work together to find Xehanort." Sora waited for Xemnas's response.

"No." He kept on walking, in search of more demons and Heartless to destroy.

Nero said, "Well…that guy's about as helpful as an axe murderer in the woods. He supposed to be your high school principal, or something?"

"Yeah—like I'm in school." Sora shook his head. "Don't worry about him. Let's hurry up and find the others."

"Lead the way."

* * *

**-X-**

Dante, Kairi, and Riku slowly tread their way back through town. As they passed up an empty street on their right, Riku assumed, "Sora and Nero should be coming from that direction. We could either wait here or get closer to the Hell Gate. What do you think we should do, Dante?"

The Legendary Demon Hunter shrugged and replied, "Your guess is as good as mine. Though I don't see anything wrong with using this time to get to know each other."

Excited, Riku agreed, "That doesn't sound half bad! So, when I was young, this guy named Terra passed down the power of the Keyblade to me through a ritual—"

"So, Kairi. Where ya from?" Dante asked.

Put on the spot, Kairi replied with an attitude, "Radiant Garden, but I grew up on Destiny Islands. And let Riku finish—his story is way more interesting than mine."

"Oh, you're just being modest."

Riku continued his life story, "Right, so a little over ten years after the ritual, I made the mistake of giving in to darkness, and the Keyblade wound up choosing Sora over me—"

"Awesome, kid—so how'd you get your Keyblade, Kairi?

Sighing, Kairi explained, "It was by accident, when I touched a true master's Keyblade while I was still really young. Then, after Riku came back to the light, he gave me my very own Keyblade to wield."

Dante asked, "What, he had an extra one just lyin' around?"

Riku responded, "Apparently. No one, including myself, seems to know where I got it from. You know, plot holes."

"Well, that's something. As for me, my dad was a badass demon—he saved the human race, knocked up my mom, and then got betrayed by a douchebag. Fast forward some odd years, and I'm hunting demons on humans' behalf. And for a paycheck, of course."

Kairi facetiously remarked, "You're a true hero."

"Slow down. I never said _that._ Nero's the hero. No, I'm just a regular guy who loves sending demons back to Hell where they belong. That, and pizza, partying, hot babes—just the finer things. What about you, Kairi? What d'ya do for fun?"

"…Just whatever my friends are doing, I guess."

"Right. So, if your friends are all partying with me, wouldja show up?"

"I don't like parties."

Riku interjected, "Uh, yeah you do! Remember Selphie's Halloween party? You and Sora—"

"Riku! Hush!" Her shrill voice assisted the reddened face.

"So," Dante began, crossing his arms and smirking, "the girl CAN party. And here I thought you were going door-to-door passing out pamphlets in your spare time."

Kairi cut her eyes at Dante. Irritably, she muttered, "I'd rather be doing that, right now."

Astonished, Dante said, "Wow. Religiously resentful." Kairi simply stared back with weary eyes, causing Dante to sense something veiled behind her gaze. Visibly concerned, he asked, "Hey, you okay?"

"I'm fine." The previous look she gave was now absent, increasing Dante's suspicion.

Riku gawked between the two, shrugged, and delivered his analysis, "Religion is a tough topic, especially for us."

"So, you feeling a little possessed?" Dante randomly asked. "Or maybe you're somewhere by...impersonated?"

Kairi was the subject, a legitimately confused one. She asked, "...What...?"

Dante raised his right brow. "If you're a demon, you've got five seconds to come out."

"I'm not a demon! What's wrong with you?"

His premonition didn't seem to be going well. Dante backed off, "Sorry. My mistake."

Kairi pressed on, "Let's just get to the Hell Gate. Sora and Nero should be able to reach us there."

Riku cheerily followed, "Lead the way."

Dante lagged behind, muttering, "That..._wasn't_ demonic?"

* * *

**-X-**

"Hey, don't touch that!" Mickey ordered to no avail.

"This thing have a jukebox button?" Lady asked, fishing around on the control panel for a music setting.

"Oh, look! The seats are adjustable!" Trish commented, leaning back in her chair while spinning in place.

"I wanna listen to Body Count," said Lady, lightly flicking one of Mickey's large circular ears.

"Screw that, put on some Motörhead," Trish countered.

Mickey flipped it to the radio. "Too bad. We're listening to Snoop Dogg."

"Hey, turn the A.C. up in this thing," said Lady.

"This flying laffy-taffy got any butt-warmers?" Trish asked.

Annoyed, Lady said, "I _just_ asked him to put on the A.C."

"That's the point of a butt-warmer. It only warms one butt at a time." Trish then assumed, "Hey, you seem like the type of guy to put a black-light in his car. You got one, or no?"

"Trish—c'mon, he's obviously a classy guy...mouse-dude, or whatever."

"What? You can never be too sure these days. But seriously, if you have one, cut that shit on right now."

"Don't you do it!" Lady commanded Mickey.

"Oh, come on! You're wearing a lot of white—you'd look stunning in a black-light!"

"I don't _want _to look stunning. I want to look edgy and dangerous!"

"What the—? Are you serious? WHO is going to see you? It's just me and the mouse guy!"

"No black-lights!"

Mickey spoke up to no one in particular, "The sad part is, this ship _does_ come with a black light."

"Ooh! Ooh! Turn it on!" Trish begged.

"No. Freaking. Way." Lady seemed resilient.

The Gummi Ship sailed past the halfway point between Capcom and Square; Mickey compromised, turning on the Christmas lights that lined the helm like a luminous spiderweb.

Trish nudged Lady. "He's definitely a pimp in his own world."

* * *

**-X-**

Sora and Nero were stopped by another demonic barrier, this time, near a bus terminal.

"This again?" said Sora.

"You get used to it," Nero replied. Right before the demons arrived through their gurgling portals of blood, he taunted, "C'mon. Who wants a beatdown?"

Several sickle-wielding demons rose from the ground, accompanied by a Dark Ball squad.

Sora and Nero laid waste to the first wave. What followed was a literal moving tower of Shadow Heartless. This was accompanied by a group of four overgrown lizard-like Riot demons.

While fighting, Sora found a new strategy. After freezing a few Shadows at the mouth of the Devil's Tower, he Airstepped to one of the frozen enemies and batted it to a Riot's face. While the Riot was stunned, Nero shot it in the throat and sliced it diagonally.

Sora landed more critical strikes on the Devil's Tower, slashing away Shadows as they flew wildly. He paused to dodge a Riot currently trying its best Sonic-the-Hedgehog impression.

Nero assisted by grabbing the spinning demon with his demonic right arm and slamming it into the floor, then kicking it into the tower. It toppled, giving Sora the opportunity to zap each Shadow scattered about with a grand Thunder spell; a finisher like that was thorough enough to put the remainder of the enemies out of existence.

The barrier persisted; just then, a Behemoth Demon rose from the earth, inviting itself with an explosive salutation. Both Sora and Nero had jumped to safety; while airborne, the latter rode his sword like a skateboard while saying, "Nice hang-time, Sora!"

"This is nothing," Sora deadpanned.

Whilst dodging or parrying the Behemoth's wild attacks, the heroes laid into its scaly hull. That's when Nero drew Yamato to finish it, slicing a flying "X" right through.

While both the Behemoth and barrier deteriorated to nothing, Sora informed, "Main Street is just up ahead!"

"Just so you know, I'm keepin' track of all the demons I kill," Nero also informed. "I wanna give your bosses an accurate number to crunch."

"I know, Nero, it's all about the money," Sora replied irritably. "What else is new?"

"Hey. Don't get mad 'cuz I know where to find a paycheck. What kinda job you work, anyway? Office space? Bus driver? Janitor, what?"

"Odd jobs here and there, so maybe."

"Find something you're good at, Sora. Then, rake in the profit."

"Noted."

Both ran through the bus terminal to the main street, now coming up on the location Riku, Kairi, and Dante had previously stopped.

"HQ isn't that far from here," Sora observed, pointing at the towering edifice still a ways up ahead. "And hey—I see the others!"

Nero squinted, noticing, "They're stuck inside a barrier."

"I'll go on ahead." Before Airstepping to a lamppost, Sora advised, "Shout if you need me."

"Cool, but I won't."

* * *

**-X-**

Riku continued raining strikes on a single Satyr—one of those armored, charging, uppercutting A-holes—hearing the familiar windy swoosh of an Airstep just behind his group's skirmish. Jumping to safety, he spotted the source and said, "Watch out for the barrier!"

"I see it!" The speedy-dasher ran up the side of a building, soaring above the barrier until he no longer saw it. Tricking right over into the designated war-zone, he free-fell to the ground, landing with a roll.

"Nice timing, kid!" Dante approved, blasting demons with both pistols.

"Sora—heads up!" Kairi warned; she had smacked a Neo-Shadow in Sora's direction.

Sweeping a slash into the air, Sora caught the enemy and immediately destroyed it. That's when Riku dashed over and effectively erased the Hell Caina attempting to strike Sora from behind.

Once the partially united band of darkness-hunters took care of the remaining enemies, the barrier dissipated, allowing Nero full entry. Jogging on the scene, the young devil hunter said, "Good, let's get to that Hell Gate."

They walked in silence part of the way there, but Dante still wanted to know what it was he sensed earlier. It came from Kairi, but it didn't seem human. He had to know more.

"What'd you say you were the princess of, again?"

With a look of indifference, Kairi replied, "I never said anything about that."

"Well, do I have to stalk your Kupo+ account to find out? What even _is_ the purpose of your royalty?"

Kairi sighed irritably. "Apparently, I'm—"

"She's a Princess of Heart," Sora answered for her. "It's a...humble kind of royalty."

"Princess of Heart, huh? What kinda power does someone like that have up their sleeve?"

Riku answered Dante, "It's complicated. She's got a whole arsenal of motivational quotes, but no actual princess-powers."

"And just what are 'princess-powers'?" Kairi asked, somewhat offended.

Riku shrugged. "You know, like, ah...Cinderella and Snow White. They can talk to animals."

Sora also shrugged, adding, "The princess in Shrek's world knows karate."

Dante threw in, "Don't forget about Xena. That's a warrior princess."

Riku offered another example, "And then there's Elsa. She's got that ice-thing going on."

"Rapunzel, with the hair, but I haven't met her yet," said Sora.

"Princess Zelda's got some unique abilities, like crossdressing," said Nero with a snap of the fingers. "Oh, and Peach, too, if you count crazy as a power."

Dante quipped, "In that case, Trish and Lady might be princesses, too."

"Didn't Ariel get some kinda human-mermaid-switcheroo powers?" Riku asked.

Sora affirmed, "Oh, yeah, that's right—!"

"Okay—I don't have powers. I get it." Kairi rubbed her temples.

Sora explained, "We weren't trying to be mean—"

"Shhh..." She took a deep breath.

"Relax, Kairi," said Dante. "I'm just trying to figure out why I sensed something...inhuman about you earlier."

"Maybe you're losing your touch?" was her guess.

"Hmph. Maybe."

They reached the five-way intersection of Main St, Square Blvd, and Enix Ave, a crossroads that sat just before Square Enix's forever-growing Headquarters. More importantly, they reached the Hell Gate.

Dante commanded, "Nero, you're up!"

"Let's do this," Nero uttered, drawing his Yamato. In one quick flourish, he sent a Maximum Bet cutting straight for the demonic spawn point. The X-shaped attack split and demolished the Hell Gate. "And that's that."

"Let's regroup with Matsuda," Riku directed. "He might know about any other Hell Gates in town."

Nero nodded, adding, "And how much to put in my bank account."

Sora shook his head. "That's if he's still alive." He pointed upward, directing everyone's attention to the Storm Rider still circling over HQ. "We should deal with that first."

The group of five ventured into the building's main wing, suddenly bombarded by panicking N.P.C.s, otherwise known as Non-Playable Characters. Thanks to the Demon-Heartless invasion, N.P.C.s of Square Enix were in a frenzy, some clustered together in the lobby of HQ's first floor.

Leon, who had been keeping watch at the door, greeted them, "Nice job destroying that demon monument. None of our weapons could penetrate it, so I gotta ask...how's it done?"

Holding out his inherited sword, Nero responded, "Yamato. It was made for solving Hell-Gate-grievances. So, is Matsuda around?"

"Yeah. He and the rest of the council are in the cafeteria."

With a furrowed brow, Sora dismissed, "You can go talk paychecks with the boss. I'm gonna go handle that Heartless."

"Knock yourself out," said Nero. Reading signs on the wall, he directed himself, "Guessing it's...this way."

Dante asked, "You guys can handle that magic dragon, right?"

"All day," said Riku.

"In the pocket," said Sora.

"Something confident," said Kairi with a nod.

"Good."

As Dante walked after Nero, they took the elevator in the west wing and selected the penthouse landing pad. Unknown to them, something lurked on top of their moving boxcar.

Sora stared out the wall-sized window, viewing the city in peril from a rising vantage point. By now, the sun had gone down completely, the darkness highlighting numerous locations set ablaze.

"It looks like Destiny Dormitory is okay," Sora observed the thirteen story building situated far on the southwest side.

"We should keep it that way," Riku suggested, determined to keep his slice of Destiny Islands safe.

"We'll have to defend the whole city," Kairi proposed. "I see more Hell Gates on the east side."

Sora asked, "Where?"

"There's one right behind the highway, another one a couple blocks down from Main Street..."

The ceiling-mounted lights suddenly went dark as the sound of bending metal hit their ears. Part of the ceiling ripped open above them, revealing a Nobody, which was pretty terrifying for all three inside. As the bony, fleshy, limbs-a-plenty demon dropped in and cackled at them, Riku cursed, "What the f(expletive)?!"

As the elevator elevated, the boxcar experienced bumps, jolts, pangs, thuds, screams, and battlecries. However, when it reached its destination, the doors opened up to reveal Sora, Riku, and Kairi dusting themselves off and leaving behind a defeated and deteriorating Nobody.

Walking out onto the landing pad, they spotted the Storm Rider doing barrel rolls in the distance while battling an attack chopper. Meanwhile, Riku pointed at a parked chopper nearby. He said, "I say we give 'em some backup."

* * *

**-X-**

In HQ's dining hall, the topic of payment was quickly brought up the moment Nero and Dante found the council.

When confronted by the demon hunters, one of the councilmen, Fukushima, responded, "To discuss your payment without the presence of any Capcom representatives would be improper business etiquette, so for now—"

"Uh, hey?" Nero seemed prideful. "We _are_ the Capcom representatives. Look, I'm not tryna complicate this job by dragging the bigwigs into it."

"I'm with Nero on this," said Dante. "Keep them off the books, and let us make our little bit o' side dough. You know. For tax evasion."

"BREAKS!" Nero corrected. "He means tax breaks."

Another councilman, Wada, replied, "Either way, you shall be compensated once your service here is finished. Our citywide surveillance system has detected four more demonic spawn locations. We understand that only Nero can destroy them?"

Nero started, "That's right—"

"I can, too," Dante interjected. "With the right devil arms, of course."

"In any case, we need those structures shut down yesterday. We can provide a helicopter for faster travel."

Dante grunted. "Well. Show us to the chopper, Mister Shogun."

Suddenly, a loud explosion resounded from outside the building. Nero and Dante went to go check it out, followed by the councilmen and a few security guards. Leon was already on the scene, gunblade drawn as he stared at the wreckage of a Square-Enix-owned attack helicopter.

"Let's hope Sora, Riku, and Kairi are faring better," Leon counted on.

* * *

**-X-**

"Backup just became the frontline," Riku exposited, realizing it was too late for that first chopper.

Standing by the door, Sora directed his silver-haired pilot, "Try to get us closer! I'm gonna jump for the head!"

As the Storm Rider did a one-eighty and zoomed straight for them, Riku pitched higher and flew above the Heartless dragon's surprise attack. That's when Sora exited the helicopter and glided straight for the aerial fiend.

Just then, a futuristic flight unit screamed past Sora, apparently fighting the dragon as the Keyblader's ally. He recognized that flight suit.

"Too-bee?!" Sora called over to the pilot.

"Get back, Sora!" She targeted the dragon's wings with ballistic rounds of her machine gun.

The way the suit weaved around return-fire on a narrow axis reminded Sora of his pot-sliding mini game with Pooh. He chuckled.

2B caught that. "Are you _laughing? _The city's overrun by forces threatening mankind, and you think it's a joke?!"

"Uh-n...! You just reminded me of something funny, sorry!" Sora then dove straight for its back, latching onto a vertebral spike.

"Concentrate on staying alive, not splitting your sides!"

"All right, already! Sheesh!"

Sora had managed to scale his way to the Storm Rider's horns, now raining strikes on its skull. When the Storm Rider tried to fry him off with a concentrated lightning strike, Sora let go and allowed 2B free range to laser-cannon-pulverize the face of the winged beast.

Sora glided back to the dragon's smoking head, utilizing Sonic Blade to lay into its hide. After the final blow, the beast lost its lofty spot in the sky, plummeting down to a rooftop.

Sora did a free-fall before slamming his Keyblade into the dragon's body. Riku came zooming in with live, fully automatic machine guns, circling his chopper above the beast's head. Meanwhile, Kairi blasted homing Fire spells from the door, scoring hits along the horns.

2B planted mines all around the wincing dragon, taking to the skies before they detonated. With the Storm Rider stunned, Sora went in for the final blow, delivering a devastating Zantetsuken. He appeared in a flash at the opposite end, destroying the Heartless with a delayed kill.

"Thanks for the effort, Sora, but I had it handled," 2B informed while the Storm Rider deteriorated behind her. "You need to get somewhere safe. That's an order."

"In case you didn't know," Sora started, "I can hold my own. Besides, I think we made a pretty good team."

"That may be true, but if you were to die or sustain injury, that would be a liability to mankind. Just let the _other_ professionals handle this bullshit."

"That's considerate, but no one's stopping me from fighting, especially if my friends are involved."

2B relented. Meanwhile, Riku and Kairi landed on the roof, exiting the chopper.

"I'm glad it's gone, but we still don't know where it or the other Heartless or coming from," Riku updated. "Let's regroup with the council."

* * *

**-X-**

On the east side of town, another Hell Gate stood prominently amidst a shopping outlet. The front of the structure began glowing until the blade of an unholy battleaxe protruded.

What proceeded from the Hell Gate appeared to be a winged demon fused to a four-legged creature. Most of its body was adorned in crimson armor plating, from its helmet down to the tail.

Roaring into the air, the massive creature rampaged through the streets.

* * *

**-X-**

**A/N: **This crossover takes place on January 5th, 2018, about year before either Kingdom Hearts III or Devil May Cry 5 released.


	4. Discord's Return

**Chapter 4: Discord's Return**

"I counted four of those Hell Gates," Kairi informed. "Two on the east side, two on the west. There could be more."

Nero suggested, "We just gotta take 'em out one at a time."

"Before you go, all of you should see this," Matsuda said, pulling out a touchscreen tablet. "Our cameras picked this up around the time Nero and Dante arrived."

He showed them footage of strange creatures appearing from a portal of darkness, stepping out at the intersection of Main St, Square Blvd, and Enix Ave. They were all utilizing teamwork to carry a Hell Gate by hand, propping it up in the center of the street. No sooner after doing that did the Hell Gate glow and begin releasing a demonic horde.

Matsuda asked, "Sora, do you recognize those creatures who set up the Hell Gate?"

"No," Sora said with a head-shake. "They don't look like demons. What are they?"

Matsuda, Fukushima, Wada, and the other five members of the armor-clad council seemed to hesitate upon hearing this. Sora, Riku, and Kairi all sensed they were hiding something.

Kairi observed, "They look like your design. Are they supposed to be new enemies for KH3?"

Suddenly, the fourth member of the council, Hashimoto, intervened, "What they are is an enemy to Square Enix. If you come across them, stop them from bringing anymore Hell Gates into our world."

Fukushima then held out a tablet of his own, showing off camera footage from another part of town. "I found this while you were separated."

More of those strange creatures, of which almost resembled Emblem Heartless if it weren't for their completely different sigils, were carrying another Hell Gate to the center of a park. After propping it up, the creatures disappeared in trails of black smoke, which wafted offscreen.

"Wait for it," Fukushima said, fast-forwarding a bit.

Someone dressed in a black coat wandered onto the security footage, walking right up to the Hell Gate and placing a glowing orb within it.

"He's powering the Hell Gate," Dante observed. "With what, though?"

Nero suddenly asked, "Is that supposed to be Xehanort?"

Riku shook his head. "He's a little too short and upright to be the old man. Still, it might be his younger self."

Fukushima reported, "We have traced no further appearances of this hooded figure at this time."

"This also happened five minutes ago." Matsuda revealed one last piece of footage situated about the shopping center on the east side. There was already an erected Hell Gate, assumed that more of those creatures put it there. What Matsuda showed was a demon the size of three big rigs combined emerging from it, rocking four legs, a halberd, and a long tail. "That's Zurvan, the Demon."

"We recommend you find and stop Zurvan first," Kitase, the fifth councilman, added. "He's far too dangerous to leave unchecked."

"Roger that," Sora said. Devising a quick plan, he proposed, "Why don't me and Dante track down that Zurvan guy? Nero, Kairi, and Riku should go after the next Hell Gate."

"Good plan," said Riku. "Let's take the chopper and split up whenever we find Zurvan."

Dante kicked off the hunting party, "Okay, time to ride."

* * *

**-X-**

Back outside, Leon and 2B were slicing up random jobber-types making an attempt at vandalism on the parked helicopter.

As the group of five emerged from headquarters' front doors, they went to aid their sword-wielding allies. While running, Kairi chastised Riku, "I told you we should've left it on the roof!"

"Agh," Riku exhaled, knowing he was wrong. "At least we don't have to do any climbing."

As they approached the fight, Leon said, "Don't sweat it. I need more practice on these Capcom demons, anyway."

"You plannin' on takin' my job?" Nero joked, slashing a Satyr back to the darkness.

"Somethin' like that. For tax breaks." Finishing the last Large Body, Leon asked, "You guys headed to the next demon block, or what?"

"Yeah," Sora said with a nod. "We're also on the lookout for a big guy named Zurvan. I hear he's bad news."

"Oh, he's more than bad news," Leon assured. "Guy likes to drop swords on people's head. Be careful if you do see him. Also, Cloud's out there fighting, maybe with a crew, so hopefully you run into him first."

"I'll look 'im up," Sora replied. "Don't be afraid to leave your post if you think we need help."

"This isn't my post. I'm waiting for someone. But if you do need help, call me."

"Will do. You on your own, 2B?"

Expression partly veiled behind her visor-fold, the android-samurai answered, "I'll be searching for humans in need. I'll also support you with backup if you call me, provided you still have my phone number."

"That, I'll get back with you on. Radio Riku if you find something."

"Roger."

The Keybladers and Devil Hunters all boarded the chopper, taking off in search of the outlet mall. And then it occurred, that the night sky flashed red, gradually turning back to normal before going full crimson.

"Oh, man! What are these demons and Heartless up to?" Riku asked.

"Are those meteors?" Nero asked, peeping the falling masses in the distance.

Riku pondered, "I wonder who's doing—"

"Riku, land the chopper," Sora suddenly commanded. "Just land the chopper."

Screwing up his face, Riku asked, "Why—?"

"Just put us on the ground!" Sora yelled.

"_Did you really think I would just go away?"_

"No, no, no," Sora uttered. "Not now."

"Who said that?" Kairi asked.

Dante grabbed Sora's shoulder. "Kid, you better start talking. What the hell's happening?"

Sora let out a sigh. "It's Chaos."

"Who the hell's Chaos?" Nero asked.

The helicopter shook violently before halting in the sky. It felt as if something had grabbed the tail fin.

"Guys... I'm sorry." Sora looked them all in the eyes. "I should've taken care of this a year ago."

Pulse pounding, Kairi asked, "Taken care of what?"

The side door of the helicopter tore open. "Me."

Dante had been standing closest to the door when it was ripped off. Recognizing an undeniable demon floating outside the chopper, he drew his shotgun and fired away. The buckshots missed their teleporting target.

"We have to bail! We're not safe here!" Sora instructed, but the opposite door also ripped open, welcoming in a four-armed adversary.

Nero was yanked outside the helicopter, followed by Dante as he was also pulled against his will. Sora went in for the attack, but was effectively countered and pushed out the other side.

"Sora!" Riku and Kairi called after him. Riku left the controls to deal with the new enemy, Kairi following suit. However, their plans changed as the winged foe used all four hands to rip apart the chopper.

Meanwhile, Sora gained his bearings and glided toward the falling remnants. Spotting Riku and Kairi falling amid the wreckage, he flew upon them and reached out for their hands.

"Look out!" Riku called.

Sora was snatched away by his hoodie, now watching Kairi and Riku fall helplessly. He suddenly found himself placed in a stranglehold.

Chaos, God of Discord, held Sora by the throat almost three thousand feet above the city streets. Straining in the tight grasp, Sora looked downward to see Dante activate his devil trigger, which came with scaly wings to help rescue Nero, but Riku and Kairi still needed assistance.

"Let me go!" Sora yelled.

"I told you of your impending servitude," Chaos growled through his fangs. "This is your last chance to submit, or else spend an eternity in my shadow."

"Kairi, Riku!" Sora's efforts were in vain.

"It is best you sever all ties, for I, Chaos, am the true vine."

* * *

**-X-**

"This can't be good," Leon surmised, peeping the red sky. "Wait...where have I seen this before...?"

Quickly scaling the wall of a building to reach its rooftop, Leon searched the skies for Sora's helicopter. Not good; pieces of a chopper were falling right out of the sky, plummeting deep in the city.

"Shit!" Leon tried dialing Sora's phone. And that's when he saw _him_ floating high above the carnage.

* * *

**-X-**

Sora's pocket buzzed, but there wasn't much he could do about it. Breathing uneven patterns, he bargained, "Let me make sure my friends are okay, and you can have one last fight with me."

Chuckling, Chaos replied, "Foolishness, Sora. There is nothing left to save. And why should we waste time fighting when there is so much light to extinguish? The reign of Chaos has just begun—"

Machine-gun-fire rained against Chaos's back. Looking over his shoulders, he spotted 2B's flight unit advancing on him.

"Sora, I'm coming!" she yelled.

Chaos grunted. "Yet another infidel."

He tossed Sora aside, charging in for a punch that barely missed as 2B barrel-rolled to safety. He wasn't finished with his assault, now spinning with the intention of shredding 2B with his tail and wings.

Sora caught some momentum and glided back to Chaos, blocking the strikes meant for 2B. With a rush of counters, he struck Chaos's body a few times before having his Kingdom Key caught mid-swing.

"Sloppy," Chaos hissed, punching Sora with his three free hands. He then blasted 2B with a fireball.

"Such a pity, how you kept running," Chaos said, letting 2B's smoky flight unit fall from the sky. "I spent a year breaking you down, and though your heart resisted the darkness, I rather enjoyed tormenting you psychologically."

Sora kicked away, wrenching his Keyblade free. He started casting Blizzard, keeping himself afloat with rapid-fire magic.

"And now you dawdle before me," Chaos continued, simply absorbing the magic projectiles. He floated closer to Sora, saying, "Careless. You should be using this time to beg for mercy."

He snatched Sora's torso before he could fall. The boy, trapped in the hands of pure evil, spat back, "If Riku, or Kairi, or 2B got hurt...!"

"It is time for you to make your decision. Align yourself with the forces of Chaos, or perish as a pawn of the light."

Sora scowled back.

"Suit yourself."

The Keyblade wielder's body lit aflame, but only briefly. As the flame went out, all that was left behind were ashes scattering in the wind.

"Hmph. Not even the Keyblade's Chosen One could stave the inevitable." Chaos raised his arms triumphantly. "Come, warriors of light, near and far! Commence your plight against me, so that all worlds may know the infinite rule of discord!"

* * *

**-X-**

Dante exhaled. "For a job with no actual payment, I sure am workin' hard."

Nero was dangling off the edge of a seven-story water-tower, clasping the arm of Riku, who held the arm of Kairi. The only one not hanging on for life was Dante, who knelt on the water-tower's roof, holding Nero's arm.

Straining to hold the weight of the two teens below him, Nero directed his dangling allies, "C'mon, let's go. Princess first!"

As Kairi managed to climb over Riku, she thanked, "I really can't thank you enough, Dante. This is the second time Riku and I've almost died today, and you've saved us both times."

Riku winced. "Ow! Easy on the shoulder blades!"

"Sorry..."

Dante remarked, "Don't thank me, yet. Nero looks like he's about lose his grip."

"Tch, am not! But seriously, hurry up." The young demon hunter felt Kairi scaling his form; she carefully climbed over his head as he said, "That's it, up we go."

"Careful, now," Dante warned. "Don't wanna let the princess fall to her—oh, shit—Nero! A demon!"

"What?!" Nero looked up, expecting to find more enemies. However, all he saw was Kairi's underwear. "Ah, for cryin' out—Dante, you dick!"

Laughing out loud, the legendary demon hunter replied, "Eh, I gotta keep you on your toes, somehow, kid."

Kairi pulled herself to safety. "I guess that's one way to do it, but...um, still though. Thanks, Dante."

"No problem. Now...what the hell even _was_ that?"

While Riku climbed topside, Kairi contemplated out loud, "Sora called him 'Chaos.' It seemed like they knew each other already."

"Yeah, well..." Dante hoisted Riku up, then pulling Nero as he said, "...Sora was hiding something. That much, I know."

"That's not like him," Kairi pondered.

Scratching his head, Riku countered, "He did say something about he 'should've taken care of this a year ago.' What could that've been about?"

"Only one way to find out," Nero posited. "Shame we can't see him from here."

Indeed, numerous buildings were blocking their view, thanks in part to falling into a densely architected part of town and also because Dante had flown them there.

"Hope he got away 'cuz that demon looked..." Dante paused. "Wait...I remember, now."

Riku asked, "Remember what?"

"I can't believe it's already been a full year, or almost one." Dante shook his head. "I thought he had it under control this whole time."

Nero suddenly piped up, "No way—! That was the same demon!"

Desperate for answers, Kairi asked, "What's going on?!"

Dante sighed. "Okay. By now, you're aware that Sora and I fought each other about a year ago."

Kairi nodded. "I was there for that fight."

"But not the second one."

"No, but I've been told about it."

"Apparently, no one told you how that second fight ended. And that's probably because no one really knew what happened...except Sora."

Nero added, "That four-armed monster you just saw? He swooped in, stopped the fight, kidnapped Sora, and that was it. After that, the kid's bounty got removed, so me, Dante, Trish, and Lady just decided to stop looking for him."

Kairi took a moment to let that sink in. Then, she recalled, "I remember Aqua and Ven saying something about a monster showing up in the fight, but after Sora came back the next day, everything went back to normal. He acted like nothing happened."

"So, here's my guess," Dante hypothesized. "That demon's been tormenting the poor kid for almost a year, now. Sora might've thought he banished it at one point, but we all know demons are stubborn. Stupid kid should've called me a long time ago."

"He didn't tell me about it, either," Riku commented. "I just wanna know why a demon like that is messing with Sora."

"Maybe that's why he was so isolated last year." Kairi laughed weakly. "And all this time, I thought it was because he was dating 2B."

"Speak of the devil," Riku said, pointing down at the street. "There she is."

Having long since abandoned her damaged flight unit, 2B appeared to be walking at a lethargic pace, followed by her floating pod.

"Let's go talk to her," Kairi insisted.

After each of them climbed down the water-tower's ladder, they caught up to 2B and struggled to get her attention.

"Hey!" Kairi called to 2B's back. "Have you seen Sora?"

2B halted, but did not respond.

"2B," Riku tried. "Is everything okay?"

She remained motionless and without response.

"C'mon, 2B—let's not do this, now." Kairi approached her, lightly touching her arm. "We can set aside our differences, can't we?"

2B removed her visor-fold, but still faced away. She uttered in a broken voice, "Pod...show them what I saw."

Pod 042 obeyed, "Retrieving footage."


End file.
